With the start of mandatory minicamp, edge rusher Lukas Van Ness is already making a splash. His name popped up frequently on Tuesday, and in the best ways.
The fourth-year edge rusher, whose fifth-year option the Green Bay Packers picked up earlier this spring, was an impactful presence in team drills and one-on-ones.
There’s a long road between now and meaningful play during the regular season. Still, Lukas Van Ness is stacking success, improving season after season, and garnering strong words of support from his teammates and coaches.
Green Bay’s star pass rusher, Micah Parsons, will miss time thanks to late-season injuries. They traded Rashan Gary to the Dallas Cowboys. The Packers haven’t traded for Josh Sweat, though if they wanted to spite me and make me appear a fool by doing so, I wouldn’t complain.
Van Ness hasn’t been a preferred starter at this stage of his career, but the Packers have set the stage for him to emerge as a productive pass rusher. Can Van Ness take advantage of these opportunities in the final days of his rookie contract and become a wrecking ball for Jonathan Gannon’s defense?
When the Packers traded for Parsons, one of the league’s best players at any position, it should have made every other defensive lineman’s life much easier.
The one this was most true for was Van Ness, who played the best football of his young career alongside Parsons. Parsons singled out Van Ness as a player to watch and took the former Hawkeye under his wing.
Van Ness’ stock was ascending, but a lingering foot injury kept him away from the action. Van Ness played in just nine games, offering only a small window into what he and Parsons could do together. And that was with Gary ahead of him on the depth chart.
Still, Van Ness had his best season despite the lack of volume. His 75.5 PFF score, which included two sacks, 23 pressures, and 14 tackles, was the highest of his career. He ranked 27th out of 115 qualifying edge players. His 72.1 run-defense grade was 20th. On a per-snap basis, Van Ness was an effective player.
Now healthy, Van Ness enters the 2026 season as the most experienced pass-rusher to start the season, and he’ll duo with Parsons when the All-Pro returns.
Parsons is a big fan of Green Bay’s other rushers, but he’s especially impressed by Van Ness.
“Luke is someone people sleep on the most, and I don’t know why,” Parsons said. “I think by the end of the season, if Luke stays healthy, he’ll probably be the favorite. That’s how much confidence I have in him. I’m already a favorite. But I definitely think I’m going to have my hands full with Luke on who’s going to be the best. I believe in him.”
Parsons’ praise meant a lot to Van Ness.
“I’ve learned a lot from Micah over the past year,” he said. “He’s taught me a lot about how I can improve and work on my game. He’s just a really good dude, a really good guy and a good guy to have in my corner.”
All necessary caveats aside — football in shorts and such — Van Ness was a highlight reel on Tuesday. He was constantly in the backfield, getting after Jordan Love in team drills. He beat Jordan Morgan several times and repeated the process on the right side, so this appears more like a Morgan issue than a Van Ness impact.
As Van Ness slides into a more featured role, the Packers will hope he continues to be disruptive against actual opponents.
Unless the Packers trade for or otherwise acquire a veteran, Van Ness is getting every chance to prove he can be a consistent, full-time player. Green Bay tends to take the next-man-up approach, and being in the spotlight and doing so without Parsons’ aid in drawing attention is as good of a proving ground as a player can find.
While the Packers picked up Van Ness’ fifth-year option, they still need to make a long-term decision on his future. If the lights aren’t too bright for him, Van Ness could create a powerful pass-rushing duo with Parsons to elevate the defense and get the Packers over their recent Wild Card hump. If he can’t, Green Bay will need to invest more resources into the edge, which won’t be easy with their lack of a 2027 first-round pick.
Lukas Van Ness made a strong statement in the early days of minicamp. If he stacks these statements, it’ll be the defense’s story of the early season.
